In this 2-part GATEKEEPER series, we will discuss how centrifugal pumps work and what information is needed to determine the pump needed for a particular application.

In part 2, horsepower, efficiency and NPSH will be discussed which will lead to a final centrifugal pump selection.

Common pitfalls during cathodic protection (CP) design include electrical continuity, current drain, hydrogen embrittlement of susceptible alloys, anode placement, anode chemistry, and test point placement.

This GATEKEEPER discusses various options available for ballast water tank treatment in these circumstances.

Sulfate removal units (SRU) are able to reduce the sulfate content of injected seawater by filtering the water prior to introduction downhole. There are many benefits in terms of both flow assurance and economics to be gained from sulfate removal

Chokes and control valves are often oversized even for normal operation, and are sometimes far too large to provide adequate control of low flow rates at initial startup.

HAZOPs are not as effective as they should be. Duhon and Sutton (2010, SPE 120735) identified many reasons why we don’t learn as much as we should from HAZOPs.

Performance compatibility issues need to be addressed through chemical testing. There can be many variations of performance compatibility

GATE, LLC’s expertise in material selection has identified several important environmental conditions that should be considered when selecting 13Cr steels for oil and gas use: acidizing and acid flowback, flowing production environment, and shut-in environment.

Water injection is often an integral part of the field development plan adopted for subsea developments, where projects may not be economically viable in its absence.

Induced Gas Flotation (IGF) has been used for Produced Water (PW) treatment for decades. The roots of flotation technology are in mining, where it has been used to enrich metal ores since the late 1800’s.

GATE, LLC has been developing testing guidelines to validate flexible pipe materials for sour service use as flowlines and risers. Flexible pipe qualification requires the evaluation of each material separately in specific conditions, as well as detailed assessment of end-connector properties, and the performance of the flexible pipe as a whole.

Chemical injection systems are difficult to size because of uncertainties including flowrate, chemicals used and their treatment rate. If conservative estimates are used for all parameters, the injection system may be oversized, at least for some wells.

Water flood is a major secondary recovery option for maximizing field production and ultimate oil recovery. Scaling however, is a problematic issue, hindering secondary recovery by forming blockages that can plug vital waterflood components.